Abstract
Medication adherence is important for glycaemic control. However, less than half of those with Type 2 diabetes take medications as prescribed. One of the known barriers to medication adherence is forgetfulness. Given the current ubiquity of smartphones, diabetes self-management apps represent a valuable avenue for providing medication reminders to help users adhere to their medication treatments and improve health outcomes. We assessed 181 diabetes management apps for the presence of medication reminder features and compared their characteristics with the evidence provided in studies showing the effectiveness of SMS reminders. We found that only 55.8% of the apps had a basic medication reminder function, although those that had them conformed to the characteristics of SMS reminders shown to be effective. This is an important missed opportunity for diabetes management apps to contribute not only to improving medication adherence, but also in having a positive effect on the health outcomes of this population.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 78-81 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 1 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Pharmacy
- Pharmacology (medical)
Keywords
- diabetes
- medication adherence
- mobile applications
- self-management
- smartphone
